[InLovingMemory]

I wish I could be a student forever. Not only would it be easier because I would not have to worry about finding a job, but I'd be able to have my free weekly counseling sessions. I have no clue what I'm going to do once I graduate. I do have to pay $15 per session with the psychiatrist though and my medication is only $7 per month (that's not bad). I have only seen the psychiatrist once so far though and she did not write me a refill prescription. I wish she had so I wouldn't have to pay to see her again plus pay for the meds. I wish I would just pay for my meds. I know it's not that expensive, but I can't tell my parents and I don't have a job so it's going to be hard to find the money.

[El-ahrairah]

Hmm most schools offer their students information with jobs or hold job fairs. I'm sure if you asked someone about it you can get information about places that are hiring.

Once you find a job I'm sure you'll gain some ideas on a career field, I know it will be hard because not many places are hiring but don't give up! I know somewhere someone is looking for an employee!

[Dark_Dreams]

Getting a job as a full time student can be a real pain. However, working for the school is an excellent option. May not be making exceptional money but they work around school schedules, the commute cannot be beat and will allow you to gain skills and earn your own money.

[InLovingMemory]

Originally Posted by El-ahrairah

Hmm most schools offer their students information with jobs or hold job fairs. I'm sure if you asked someone about it you can get information about places that are hiring.

Once you find a job I'm sure you'll gain some ideas on a career field, I know it will be hard because not many places are hiring but don't give up! I know somewhere someone is looking for an employee!

That's actually really good advice. I think I will look into the career services on campus once I get back to school. Thank you.

[InLovingMemory]

Originally Posted by Dark_Dreams

Getting a job as a full time student can be a real pain. However, working for the school is an excellent option. May not be making exceptional money but they work around school schedules, the commute cannot be beat and will allow you to gain skills and earn your own money.

Yeah. I actually got a peer advising job which starts Fall 2011. I am excited but very nervous about that job. I hope I succeed and it helps me get a real advising job once I get my bachelors. Fingers crossed and prayers for me please?

[Dark_Dreams]

As someone who has worked for a college the last couple years, I can say that I wouldn't have it any other way. Sure the pay isn't great but the flexibility cannot be beat and the learning that takes place is immeasurable. The experience gained gives a huge leg up on any competition for a better position.

I'm sure you will do great. Peer advising is wonderful because with each person you talk to, you learn something you may not have already known. Besides, when you talk to an adviser, you get their professional input. However, a peer adviser can offer more practical information that students need to hear.

[salukigirl]

I have decided I will never leave school. Even after I graduate, I don't want to leave academia. It's such a laid back place and you can almost make your own rules. I started college in 2004 and now am half way thru my masters. Then on to my PhD, then a post doc. So I wont officially be done with school for another......6 years or so. And I am totally fine with that. Of course I'm still allowed on my mom's insurance until I'm 26 (3 more years) but I still have free counseling thru the university which is awesome. I'm NEVER leaving!

[Dark_Dreams]

I will never officially leave school either. As long as I continue at least half time, I won't have to pay back the student loans. So once I graduate, I fully intend to continue studying until such time as I have a really well paying job. Hopefully by then I will be doing what I hope to be doing which means a portion of that loan will be written off anyway

[MK21204]

90% of the reason I'm in grad school...

[ladyjrnlist]

I'm in grad school now. The thought of being a professional student has crossed my mind.

[Perna]

The problem with being only one thing forever is that the odds of it working are really bad and if you don't have very broad skills/coping mechanisms, you can get screwed when things shift. Colleges/universities are changing drastically and that's not going to stop either and there's only so much room/need for all the professional students without real world experience.

I recently graduated from a very well thought of university but over 95% of the courses are taught online and though all the professors are PhD (required of this university, no MA's at all) mine were all only part-time too and had very exclusive full-time jobs/experience (several of my history professors worked for the CIA and my European history professor had first hand experience with the fall of the Berlin Wall; my Chinese history professor had similar, real Communist Chinese political experience and I had real, behind-the-scenes, field trips in Washington, D.C., all as an undergrad).

I don't think you can get to the life you would like/envision without work in other areas to create a more solid base. I would make sure you learn to write novels or invest in a great portfolio or expect to inherit something interesting before I got too single-minded?